Turnabout Babysitting
by Archmage-lord
Summary: After a series of random events, Diego Armando is forced to drive Mia and her thirteen year old sister Maya around town, the pint-sized medium apparently intent on putting a stop to the budding romance. Just babysitting? More like warfare! Please R&R!
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Phoenix Wright or any of it's characters, otherwise this wouldn't be a fanfiction, would it?

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Perhaps it was the fact that traffic had been horrendously congested for the drive home, perhaps it was that she practically had to fracture her skull trying to figure out how to plead her latest client's case when the entire world seemed to have it against him (a past of small time robberies didn't exactly scream 'Not Guilty of murder!'), or perhaps it was the fact she had been running around the office in these damned heels all day-

Mia Fey didn't even have enough willpower to finish her mental rant on how tired she was as she finally walked into her apartment, unceremoniously kicking her black high heels off with a primitive grunt. Not even bothering to watch them violently collide into the wall, she painfully dragged what felt like a carcass more than her own body into the living area and let herself fall atop her slightly dated couch, even the bland, empty walls that usually failed to phase her beginning to feel oppressive.

Mia couldn't remember for the life of her the last time she had felt this exhausted. How was it possible for someone to be this tired and still be able to maintain conciousness? _Might have something to do with this throbbing ache… _the young attorney thought to herself as she began massaging the painful sole of her left foot, temporary and cheap relief considering it was her entire body that was crying for aspirin.

The brunette sighed to herself as she transferred her rubbing hands over to her other foot. Her unmotivated gaze fixed on the featureless ceiling above her. Not only had her entire day proven to have been a mind-numbing endurance test, but her free time was promising to have just about the same fun factor: a whole lot of nothing with a side order of ambiguous depression.

The dialogue with her coworkers on the way out was still fresh in her mind. "Glad to have your day behind you. Ms. Fey?" Mr. Grossberg, her jovial and rather plump employer had called out to her from inside his office. "Any plans for tonight?"

"Oh, I don't know... crash in front of the TV with whatever old clothes I can find and eat leftovers… maybe some ice cream if I still have some…" she had replied with as much vigor as a shriveled up plant in the middle of the Sahara desert.

"That's hot." Diego Armando, resident cheeky eye candy, allowed himself to sarcastically comment with a grin as he passed her by, fresh cup of coffee in hand despite the fact that it was 6 pm. "Must you always make it a point to tease us so, Kitten?" he added with a wink.

"Shut up, Diego."

"I'm kidding, Kitten. I'm sure your old high school sweatshirt and ice cream stains look very flattering on you."

Mia hadn't bothered to mention how just about everything from her scalp to her toenails was begging to be put out of misery, knowing all too well the handsome bastard would only offer to personally give her a full body massage (which would have felt SO good right about now…), opportunity just about any other woman would have blindly accepted. But not Mia. Getting a rubdown from one of your superiors at work just wasn't right, regardless of how much hot Latino vibe said supervisor had going on. That and he had ordered her to fetch ridiculously expensive and smelly coffee grinds for his stupid high-end coffee machine all the way at the other end of town, which only added to her feet's misery. 'The only place where they sell that specific blend' he said with that stupid charismatic grin that sent her in mental fits of swooning. 'Nothing we can do about it, Kitten'. Nothing, huh? How about he got off the damn caffeine and pick up a normal corny hobby like stamp collecting or Pokemon cards?

Eventually she forced herself into her room to change into something that actually allowed her to breathe, which sadly ended up being throwing on an old sweatshirt like Diego had predicted and some pajama pants she had lying around. Sarcastic hotness indeed! But, refusing to give him a total victory, the apprentice attorney opted for the light grey hoodie adorning her university's dark red logo that also served as a rudimentary blue print of the campus rather than the bright pink one she had ordered through the high school memorial shirt initiative (back when girly techno music was still relevant, ouch!) That'll show him. Somehow. Besides, her old high school sweatshirt didn't fit anymore, what with the same large chest of hers that made every clothes shopping occasion into an epic quest comparable to that of Excalibur or Holy Grail. At least King Arthur had a magician telling him what to do, Mia had to waste entire afternoons running from store to store just for a bra that properly fit…

Slightly perked up by the random reminder of her totally awesome body image, only thing that seemed to be going well for her at the moment (forget her sad little victory on the sweatshirt issue by a technicality, sure as she was that Armando was choking on his bitter dark coffee at her audacity right about now), Mia plopped down before the same television set she had when she first moved out of Kurain with the afore mentioned leftovers, Chinese noodles only two days old (Mia was evidentially going all out tonight), beginning to watch a crime drama series she had never watched until now all the while steadily eating the still slightly stiff noodles. She didn't really care at this point, as long as it was lukewarm thanks to the microwave and not starting it's own ecosystem, she would eat it.

Was this really how it was going to be for her from now on? Passionate yet at the same time exhausted beyond all measure about her work and a nightlife consisting of watching ridiculous fictional stories on the small screen? No wonder the writers always came up with outrageous plot hooks (A drug dealer cop's twin infiltrating the legal system with just the likeliness of his brother? Riiiiiight…) or never dwelved into any of these fictional character's personal lives, there was nothing to talk about! The last thing people needed to know was a reminder of their own mundane day to day lives. That angsty supermodel police officer bouncing around the streets after the killers totally spent her nights eating ice cream right out of the tub while looking at yet another dumb program.

"You and me both." Mia confirmed to the fictional police officer bitterly. Her premonitions of bland grown-up life was then interrupted by the phone ringing. _That's odd. Who would be calling me at this hour?_ The exhausted woman just dumbly stared at the device a little ways off of where she was sitting as it rang one, two, three times before remembering someone on the other end of the line was waiting on her.

Stretching her free arm as far as it could so she wouldn't have to get up to pick up the ringing device, Mia struggled to keep the receiver airborne, half catching it only to almost drop it a few too many times before finally managing to grasp it properly between her fingers. Taking the time to slowly exhale out of relief, Mia brought the receiver to the side of her face, giving a hesitant: "Hello?" to her still anonymous caller.

"Hey sis! It's Maya, how've you been? Th Kurain training temple's giving us the weekend off to visit family!"

Mia's face instantly lit up at that.


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Phoenix Wright or any of it's characters, otherwise this wouldn't be a fanfiction, would it? And also a big thank you to my beta-reader, Garnet17th, without her this fanfic would definitly be sub-par to the product you are currently reading.

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Mia was so antsy she was having a hard time staying seated on her desk chair as she re-read her checklist for the hundredth time, the young woman having scribbled it down furiously one week ago after Maya announced that she was able to visit her over the weekend. It had been so long since Mia had seen her thirteen year old sister (counting up the years that had gone by since she went to law school almost made her cry. How long has it been? Six, seven years?), and she was going to make up for it by organizing the best weekend ever for the apprentice medium.

Hamburgers were definitely a must, what with Maya being a total fanatic of the all-American beef and patties that failed to be available anywhere in Kurain. But it wouldn't be just one night of hamburger feasting, far from it! Tonight they'd eat at Burger King because of the quick service without skimping on the taste that would definitely be required after Maya's long tip, but on Saturday and Sunday they'd go to fancier gourmet restaurants where the burgers were overpriced but well worth it taste bud wise. Other than that, Mia had spent her free time scouring all the possible interesting events going on for brochures and pamphlets, originally planning to pick out a few herself but deciding it would be better (if not more chaotic) that Maya be the one who picked where they will go herself, seeing as this the next couple of days were going to be all about her.

"Looks like you finally got the skip in your step back, Kitten." Diego, who had walked up to her desk with a few files without her noticing, said with a smile. "Glad you finally caved in and started drinking gourmet coffee grinds instead of your tasteless instant brand!" he commented cheekily, raising the coffee cup in his other hand as if proposing a toast. Of course it was there. Diego Armando always had that stupid cup holding that stupid beverage in that stupid hand of his. Mia was beginning to suspect that the darned thing was glued into his hand, loyally following it's master wherever he went. From the morning shower to the long commune to work and all the way to the daily trip at the gym for a caffeine powered work-out (say what you want, but a six-pack and shoulders like that don't grow on trees, Mr. Vacation Photos in Cancun), imaginarily giggling at Diego's stupid coffee puns, cheering him on in his tirades about society slowly killing his precious drink of choice with all the extra caramel and chocolate shavings.

Mia then started to contemplate the fact that he would probably even slept with with his dear mug, nuzzling against it in his sleep as his subconscious bombarded him with visions of coffee filled oceans. No, a coffee cup would be too hard and breakable to sleep with. Even Diego couldn't be THAT weird. It was a coffee cup teddy bear he owned. Yes, that was it: An over-sized, squishy, cotton filled cup made out of soft fabric with a big red smiling face stitched onto it's surface, the Hispanic attorney in question secretly snuggling up against it before going to bed with matching pajamas covered in equally happy coffee cups– or boxers, Mia was not one to be picky in her mental images - lovingly stroking it's sides while whispering words of eternal friendship into the ear it didn't have, softly repeating whatever name he had given it: most probably Muggy. "Muggy...Muggy..."

"Um… Kitten?" Diego asked hesitantly as his subordinate of sorts drifted further and further into her own bubble. "Mi-ia…. Earth to Mia…" he tried again, leaning ever so slightly over her desk and moving his cup of pure black coffee under her nose, the bitter smell of it knocking her out of her fantasies with a start.

"Huh?! Wha-what is it?!" the brunette rambled as she rolled herself and her chair away from Diego's coffee, her nostrils practically burning after a single whiff. "Don't you put cream or sugar in your coffee?!"

"Doing that ruins the taste." Diego replied with a bit of a pout as if Mia had asked him a stupid question. "Any more obvious questions, Kitten? What were you thinking about just there? It's hard having a conversation with a brick wall."

"Oh, nothing!" Mia answered nervously, the fact of mentally picturing her coworker showering or in themed boxers suddenly seeming so very, very wrong. "You were you saying?"

"I was saying how happy you seemed today, Kitten."

"I'm just so happy it's the weeken-" Mia attempted to divulge her plans of spoiling her little sister over the next two days but was interrupted by the telephone's intercom system. "Ms. Fey, there's a call for you on line 2."

"Oh, thank you Penny." Mia replied after she had pressed the button, releasing it to pick up her desk phone's receiver and pressing the button for the corresponding line. "Mia Fey speaking."

"HI MIA!" Maya's distinct voice could be heard over the slightly annoying sound of phone line static.

"Maya, why aren't you on the bus? Are you alright?!" Mia demanded, already imagining her little sister starving on the side of the road with a broken leg. And a coffee cup somewhere in the background. Ugh, why was she still thinking of Muggy in a time like this?!

"Sis, relax! I'm on the bus and everything, I just borrowed someone's cellphone to call you!"

Mia paused at that. "Maya…. did you ask before 'borrowing' the cellphone?"

"Of course I did! What kind of person do you think I am?!" Maya almost screamed into her end of the line, outraged. "I learned my lesson last time!"

"There's a last time?! Maya, what happened?!" Mia asked, already feeling the color drain from her face. Was that supposed to make her feel better?

"I shouldn't talk about it, lest it taint my public image." The thirteen year-old replied with her best adult-sounding voice, her usual tactic along with the use of big words ('lest' apparently counting as a big word in this case) for evading a topic, to which Mia just sighed while looking above her just in time to see Diego was back and silently mouthing her to look over the file he was handing to her. "So how was Kurain's awesomest lawyer's day?" Maya asked, still intent on driving the conversation away from her past of implied cellphone theft.

Mia decided to follow her example. "Oh, pretty standard lawyer stuff… double-checking some files." The woman said as she opened the document Diego wanted her to look at so badly, which was odd considering he must have filled a thousand of these before in his career.

"You forgot the 'awesomest' part!" Maya insisted, causing her older sister to smile brightly.

"Now you're exaggerating." She spoke into the phone while closing the document and handing it to Diego with a nod, to which he silently mouthed to her if she was sure, to which she rolled her eyes and mouthed that she was, to which he shot her that happy grin that always managed to make her knees feel like Jell-O and be off on his merry way. Any happier he would have jumped in the air to click his heels together.

"Strange…" Mia mumbled aloud without even realizing.

"What's strange? You not being awesomest material until you buy me hamburgers?" Maya sounded just as confused as her sister was.

"Oh, did I say that aloud?!"

"Ch-ya! Kinda did!"

"Sorry about that, my supervisor was acting weird."

"This the one that smells like coffee? I'd HATE having to work for someone that smelt like anything other than hamburgers! How do you do it?"

"Patience. And self-control. Lots. Of. Self. Control." The eldest Fey sister responded as she did her best to look at anything other than her co-worker lazily stretching his arms and abruptly sneezing, which Mia didn't associate for one second with the Japanese superstition of sneeze inducing gossiping. See what she did there?

"Uh-oh, who did that macho sneeze in the background just now?!" Maya asked frantically. "Was it Coffee Man?! He's on to us!"

"Maya, calm down, how is he supposed to know that-"

"Heh, what's the Japanese saying about people sneezing?" Diego dared to randomly yell in the direction of Grossberg's office, not realizing the horrible coincidence with Mia's phone conversation. "That people are talking about me or something?"

"I wonder what they say about hemorrhoids flaring up…" Was all the large head lawyer in the green business suit replied absently, sending Diego's face into a grimace of disgust as he spit his coffee back into his cup. "Wonderful… just…. wonderful…."

"Well whatever. It takes a lot of patience to be a awesomest lawyer, but it takes a lot of hamburgers to be awesomest sister!" Mia could hear her sister chiming on her seat in a bus somewhere between here and Kurain.

"Don't worry Maya, you'll get all the hamburgers you want just like I promised. Now tell the bus driver to go faster so I can spoil you already!'

"Will do!"

"How far are you from here, anyway?" Mia asked into her phone's receiver as she pulled out the map of the bus route she had printed off the internet. At first no response came, which the attorney took as a bad omen.

"I'm at the part of the trip where you can see trees out the bus window." Maya's reply finally came, most probably after the thirteen year old took the time to look out the window to double check.

"They have those everywhere!" Mia did a double-take at the sheer outrageous nature of her sister's reply. "That doesn't tell me anything!"

"What's important is that I'm on the right bus and I'll be there eventually!" Maya quickly interjected. "The man who's phone I borrowed is giving me looks, I think I need to give it back to him. Talk to you soon!" She hung up without even giving Mia the chance to reply.

But who cared?! She was going to see her little sister for a whole weekend! Time to get back at that list!

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A/N: Thank you to all of those who took the time to review and suscribe to Turnabout Babysitting thus far, all your feedback and comments are very much appreciated and make me strive to perfect my writing style even more!


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Still don't own Pheonix Wright. Still owe alot to Garnet!7th for being my awesome beta-reader.

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The rest of the work day had not blazed by as fast as Mia had hoped it would, having every spare moment available diligently devoted to double-checking the time and triple-checking the bus route schedule. She finally let out a heavy sigh at the realization that barely a minute and a half had gone by since the last inspection. Somehow, Mia knew that it was only going to get worse.

Miraculously enough, the clock struck five, signaling the end of the law firm's office hours. Hastily, Mia started picking up her things only to abruptly stop at the sight of a tall shadow covering her office plant Charlie. Had it not been by the way Diego Armando was standing over her desk with his coat hung over his shoulder, the idea of a vague time lapse would have seemed absurd. This, however, proved to be the only explanation Mia could muster up since Diego clearly had a very expectant gaze plastered upon his face that meant she had, perhaps, missed something important.

"All set, Kitten?" he had initially asked her, to which she just looked at him a little blankly out of confusion.

"Um... I guess? Why the sudden interest?"

"You're an interesting person, what can I say?" was his reply, not surprisingly accompanied by a sip of coffee. Wasn't he done drinking the stuff yet?! Seriously, the end of the day on Friday and he was just standing there drinking his cup of Joe!

"No... I meant in this particular moment..." Mia corrected him while rubbing her temples. You'd think now that she actually had places to be for once he'd just let her go. But no! This whole ambiguous flirting thing couldn't be timed any more poorly...

Diego laughed with a very slight hint of nervousness,which was most likly not by choice. "You... you forgot, didn't you?"

"Forget what?!" Mia had to contain herself to not yell that as she rose to his feet. "The last time we talked was when you handed me that file to look over-"

"Exactly!" Diego interjected with a daring smile as he sat at the corner of her desk as if it would help him in the upcoming debate. "The folder containing the dinner invitation you were more than happy to accept!"

"WHAAAAAT?!" Mia was literally shocked back into sitting as she heard the man's outrageous claim. "I didn't accept any invitation to any dinner and you know it!" she countered while slamming both hands on top of her desk, her courtroom habits now jump starting for an odd reason.

"Y-yes you did." Diego's reply came, his confidence faulturing. "I put a little Post-It note in the file I handed you while you were on the phone..."

Mia could feel a bead of sweat begin to crawl down the side of her head as she listened to his claims. "Post-It...?" she echoed awkwardly.

"Yes, a Post-It! You remember now, don't you?" His face lit right back up again, cocky grin and all. "Just say you forgot, Kitten. I won't be mad at-"

"Diego, there... there was no Post-It in the file you handed me." Mia told as comfortingly as she could, but somehow, she just knew there was no avoiding what was to come.

Ah yes, the common 'awkward moment' silence. Oh, and how painful it was! Until, finally, after what felt like an eternity of awkward glances...

Diego's head tipped a bit to the left as he asked her: "Really?! Then why were you smiling all happy and-"

"I was smiling at something my sister said. You know, because I was on the phone?" Mia asked him with a slightly raised eyebrow. "Did you really hand me that file just to ask me out to diner with a Post-It?!" she then dared to ask, but Diego clearly was no longer paying attention by the way he was stroking his chin, eyes darting about in thought.

"How is that possible...?" he mumbled to himself so low Mia almost had to lean closer to properly hear him. "I distinctly remember putting it in that file before I gave the other one to...oh sh--"

"I'm ready for our 'date', Diego! Ohoho..." Grossberg's cheery, booming voice could be heard somewhere behind Diego, which caused one of the most horrifying things Mia had ever seen: the face of the Hispanic lawyer before her was that of death itself. His normally rich brown eyes now seemed hollow, without any willingness to live while his mouth was wide open in shock as if to better let all his life force escape into the atmosphere!

"Oh, god…" Diego's face twitched frantically as he slammed his face against Mia's desk. "Not Grossberg…"

"Diego?" Grossberg walked into the doorway of Mia's office to find Diego just resting his head there, the younger man begin a slowly building laugh until he finally raised his head to turn towards his boss.

"I'm really sorry, Marvin," he managed to stop laughing long enough to say. "But that note was actually meant for Mia here…" he said sheepishly, which caused Grossberg's expression to become quite serious, almost angry. And here Mia thought the jolly ball of a man was incapable of any negative emotion.

"Really now?" came Grossberg's stern reply as he furrowed his eyebrows further, the fact that his womanizing employee was chasing after his newest star employee at the law firm obviously displeasing him.

"It's not what you think, Marvin!" Diego reassuringly raised his hands as if trying to coax a wild animal to not attack. "It's purely for business!"

"Why wasn't I invited then?" Grossberg challenged with a raised eyebrow, his eyes betraying the fact he thought Diego was covering his plot up now that he had him under the spotlight.

"We… we just thought you had plans with the misses, didn't we Kit-"

"Diego, no!" Mia hissed in a low voice at him. "Mr. Grossberg's wife filed for divorce last week."

"….ah?" was Diego could muster as he sheepishly looked back towards Grossberg, who's mustache was wiggling in a 'not impressed' fashion.

"It's alright, Mr. Grossberg, I already have plans this evening anyway." Mia decided to make her leave at this point, not wanting to be there if her boss did decide to blow his fuse. "I'll see you both Monday!" she tried sounding cheerful as she picked up her coat and walked past the two.

"If I survive this, that is…" Diego muttered just so she could hear as she politely asked Grossberg to let her through, seeing as he was congesting the entire doorway.

"Oh yes, of course. Take care, Ms. Fey." Grossberg told her as he moved aside, then fixed his evilest of glares on the now isolated Diego. "As for you-!"

Mia made sure she was out the building's door before she got to hear anymore. Did that scene she just witnessed mean that Grossberg was also having suspicions on Diego and herself?

Whatever the case, Mia was just glad to be away from that little bit of drama. Little did she know that only more drama would await her in the parking lot. She barely had time to fish out her car keys out of her purse when she saw a rebel looking teenage boy kneeling dangerously close to her car's rear tire.

"What's that boy doing to my car?!" she asked herself incredulously before adopting her best intimidating face. "HOLD IT!" she hollered at him despite the fact she was all the way at the other side of the parking lot. She couldn't help but recall even now how Diego taught her that her court room interruptions should be so loud and affirmative that people could practically see the words in bold red lettering inside a white speech bubble.

It sounded silly at first, but she had mastered her almost tangible exclamation bubbles and saw the difference it made at intimidating, even if she was now using it against a street ruffian instead of in a prosecutor.

Said ruffian was so shocked that he dropped an object (too small to identify from this distance) and just stared horrified at Mia. That was when she recognized his face; her current client's (the one who didn't kill his grandmother despite what everyone else thought) cousin.

"What exactly were you doing just now?!" Mia asked him authoritatively as she began marching towards him.

"Busting up yo' tires, what else?!" came his reply, initial shock already long gone. "Ain't no lawyer chick helpin' ma' cuz' get away wit' ma' Grandma's murder!"

"OBJECTION!" Mia retorted with another strike of her imaginary cartoon bubbles, reflexively pointing at him as well. "My client was nowhere near the victim's vicinity on the night of the murder as proven by the-"

A polite clearing of the throat was then heard a little ways behind her. Both attorney and crook looked in the sound's direction to see that Diego Armando had now joined the scene.

"Kitten… why are you yelling objections at this punk?" he asked her critically while taking his hands out of his coat's pockets.

"I don't know, it just… came out on it's own!" she replied worriedly as her entire posture deflated a bit. "Happens to everyone, right?" she then asked hopefully.

"Nope, just you." Diego replied off-handedly just as both adults noticed the boy was trying to make a run for it.

"I don't think so!" he growled before both of them dashed after him, Diego quickly tackling him to the floor, Mia helping him keep the boy down as she called the police.

"What you did was pretty stupid, kid!" Diego told the punk he held pinned against the gravel. "I'm sure the court will find you much less credible with this on your criminal record!"

He then tried flashing his expertly mastered grin in Mia's direction, what with him having the Knight in Shining Armor aura at the moment (perhaps he wasn't so unlucky today after all...) only to realize Mia was actually cursing under her breath at her watch. "What's the matter, Kitten?"

"What's the matter?!" Mia echoed angrily. "What's the 'matter' is that I was finally able to put this crazy week behind me just to have some PUNK-"

"Watch your words around the people involved in a case, Kitten." Diego interrupted to remind her, to which she just glared at him before resuming.

"-just to have… **him** bust my car tires when I was supposed to be pick up my sister at the bus station five minutes ago!"

"Thas' whut you git fer' defending criminals!" the boy squirming under Diego's much bigger frame allowed himself to say only to have Diego press even harder on his back.

"Right to remain silent, kid. Use it." Was he said before looking back at Mia, something he wished he hadn't been forced to stop doing because of the miscreant. "Relax, Kitten. You already called the cops, we can just bring this kid to Grossberg and have him handle the rest. You'll make it on time."

"I better call a taxi then…" Mia began dialing on her phone again.

"Oh no you don't!" Diego verbally forbade her. "I'll give you a lift, no worries."

"It's fine Diego, really…"

"Kitten, you're so cruel!" Diego made a scene as his head swiveled around as if in agony. "Not only do you turn down my dinner invitation, which gave me A LOT of shit with Grossberg, thank you very much, but you're turning down my offer for a lift too? That's just hurtful, Mia Fey."

"Um…" the punk hesitated only to stop in shock as Diego began to pet his head!

"She hates me, kid… she hates me…"

"Oh, alright! I'll go!" Mia caved in, the attempt at the guilt-trip not surprisingly working. After everything she had been through just this afternoon, she just didn't have the strength in her to deal with Diego's guilt-trip, no matter how childish it was.

Hopefully Maya would be on her best behavior today!

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**A/N: **At long last Chapter 2! I've had this part in mind a really long time ago, I just for some reason had a very hard time getting it on the word proccessor. But it's finally here! Sorry to keep you all waiting, folks! I'll update more frequently from now on, promise.


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Phoenix Wright is still property of Capcom. Imagine that! And I still owe lots to Garnet17th, my super-mega-awesome beta-reader!**

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Diego Armando turned the keys in the ignition of his car as he tossed a smiling glance at Mia, who just sat there in the passenger seat, hands awkwardly placed on her lap.

"You really didn't have to do this, Diego…" she finally said before looking out the window.

"Nonsense, Kitten." he replied cheekily as he began driving. "You would of had to pay a fortune on a cab, besides, won't your sister be more impressed being picked up in such a nice car?"

Mia couldn't help but shake her head ever so slightly. Of course Diego was the proud owner of a red sports car with full leather interior, heated seats and the typical myriad of dashboard buttons. Grimacing, she just couldn't help but find it all unnecessary. Then again, it wasn't surprising that the Hispanic attorney wanted to show everyone just how well off he really was.

"We aren't big car fans in my family, as long as it starts and has locking doors, we're happy." She commented while looking back at him. "Personally, I'm just shocked that your car's interior doesn't smell like coffee!"

"Oh for crying out loud…" Diego failed at sounding miffed as he just ended up chuckling. "I don't drink THAT much!"

"Oh no?" Mia took that as a challenge as she crossed her arms over her chest (not that Diego was looking there to begin with…) "That cup you were drinking before I left the office, what was it? Your twentieth?"

"Eighth." Diego replied dryly, reaching for his cupholder instinctively only to realize it was empty, grumbling ever so slightly as his hand retracted back to the steering wheel. This made Mia giggle, which made the embarrassment all worth it for him. It was just too beautiful how her face lit up like…

"Red light! Red light!" Mia's yelling made him snap out of it just in time to slam on the break and avoid a possibly ugly collision with the car in front of them.

"Eight cups of coffee is a perfectly healthy number." Diego continued the conversation as if nothing had happened, shifting his gaze to his passenger only to realize that the sudden halt almost made Mia's head crash into the glove compartment!

"How did you not see that?" she asked as politely as her slightly rattled nerves allowed as she straightened back into her seat, flicking her disheveled hair out of her face.

"I'm sorry, Kitten. Just when I was about to point out you were actually enjoying yourself, too."

"Shall we rule this one as a lack of caffeine?" she couldn't help but joke again.

"Whatever you say, Kitten." Diego agreed, halfway in his notorious grin just as she spoke again.

"Could you… please stop doing that? At the very least for today?" she asked in an awkward, vague way.

"Stop what, Kitten?" he asked her, jaw frozen in a half-grin that slightly resembled an animal baring it's fangs.

"Exactly that… calling me Kitten. I… I don't want Maya to get the wrong impression."

"Is there anything to misinterpret?" Diego dared to ask, which caused Mia to sink back into her seat, the thought of vanishing into thin air obviously very appealing to her as she looked the other way to hide her flushed face.

Uh-oh. Too soon. Back up, back up!

Diego hurriedly cleared his throat and laughed nervously all while gluing his eyes to the road, never blinking or diverting his attention elsewhere until that last statement was forgotten. The fog of awkwardness was probably too thick to see through anyway. "How old did you say your sister was?"

"Thirteen." Mia replied, slowly easing back into a normal sitting position as she continued answering Diego's question. "She started her spirit medium training a while back now, this is actually the first time she can visit anyone since I moved out of Kurain."

"Sounds harsh." Diego commented with slight uneasiness in his voice. "I think I read about the Kurain Spirit Channeling Technique in an article somewhere… are you a medium yourself?"

"Oh no, not me!" Mia smiled dismissively while looking down at her feet.

"Not a believer?" he asked her off-handedly, to which she seemed hesitant before replying:

"It's not really for me. I do share in its beliefs though!"

Diego was convinced that she was not being completely honest, but made no sign of it as he continued the conversation. "You mean like your Magma-kami necklace?"

"Magatama." Mia corrected him with a bit of a laugh. "And yes, it's related to Kurain beliefs."

"How big of a village is Kurain, anyway?"

"**Really** small! Let me put it this way, just going to a Burger King is going to be one of the biggest highlights of the weekend."

"Really now?" Diego couldn't help but chuckle yet again as he took a left turn at an intersection. "And where in your weekend schedule were you going to smuggle that in?"

"It was supposed to be tonight, actually…"

**

* * *

**

Maya scrambled to her feet and towards the front of the bus as soon as the driver had announced they were approaching the Los Angeles terminal. The short girl let her shoulder length black hair hang naturally except for the bangs tied with purple elastics on each side of her head and sported the traditional purple robes of Kurain. If little Maya noticed the odd glances fixed on her as she planted herself right next to the bus driver, she chose not to pay any attention to them as she began shifting her weight between the tip of her toes and the balls of her heels.

"You're not supposed to stay standing in the middle of the bus while it's still moving." the driver told her without even moving his head, which freaked Maya out a little bit. How did he know she was there?! Was he psychic? Or was he just a man with a drivers license and a keen ear for the sound of sandals on the floor?

Some questions were best left unanswered, at least that's what the grown-ups kept telling her back in Kurain. This had to be one of those questions!

"I don't wanna sit anymore." Maya answered him, looking out the large glass doors just to have a one up on his keeping his attention on the road.

"I know the ride's been long and boring, but you really need to get back to your seat." The man continued in his neutral tone.

"What does it matter if I'm here or sitting down?" Maya asked pleadingly, already losing patience at this 'Not Looking at You' game. "It's not like I'm being loud or giving a strip-tease or something."

"I'm sorry, but those are the ru- wait, did you say strip tease?!" the bus driver was downright shocked out of his train of thought as he finally glanced back at Maya. "How old are you and how do you know about that kind of thing?"

"I'm thirteen. Shocking I know vocabulary like that, isn't it?" Maya asked gravely, clasping her hands together behind her back as she tilted herself a bit to the left. "That's what you get when you punish your kids by making them copy parts of the dictionary. They learn to curse like a sailor. And I don't even want to be a sailor!"

"Well, I wouldn't exactly call what you did swearing…."

"Please, don't patronize me." The lithe medium in training interrupted him with a raised hand. "I already know what a courtesan is when I should still be playing with Steel Samurai action figures. My youth is tainted forevermore."

The maybe/maybe-not psychic bus driver just sat there looking at her with a blank face before finally opening the doors of the bus. "We're, uh… we've reached the Los Angeles stop."

"REALLY?!" Maya made a 180 degree spin in the middle of a jump as she gawked in wonder at the sight of the large crowd of people before her, which was staring at her in hopes that she'd stop blocking the entrance to the bus.

"Bless you for the safe journey, Mr. Bus Driver!" Maya turned back to the bus driver with a bow before jumping out into the bustle of the big city for the very first time. "And remember, dictionaries forevermore-"

"-tainted your youth. I know, I know…" the man finished her sentence as he rolled his eyes, obviously glad she was finally off on her way.

Maya was however far from done on her journey to her sister's side, what with the tidal wave of people she had to wiggle through just to reach the actual Terminal's exit. However, at that exact moment, she saw her older sister standing there in her fancy work clothes like a holy apparition in the middle of the desert, the light at the end of the tunnel, a hamburger at the very end of the table…

Alright, so Maya was never really good with metaphors, but who cared?! She found Mia!

"Maya?" the brown haired woman asked as if she already didn't know the answer.

"MIIAAA!" the girl cried out as she literally charged at her long-lost sister with outstretched arms, managing to avoid slipping on her sandals as she reached Mia just in time for a frantic, high-pitched babbling sister hug!

"OhmygodMayaI'msohappytoseeyouI'msosorryIdidn'tcallasoftenasIsaidIwouldIgotcaughtupinworkandmentalpituresofthistoycoffeecupMuggyandyoursomuchbiggernowand-" Mia practically forgot to breathe as she rambled on almost tearfully in conjunction with Maya who was giving a similar speech:

"LookatyoualldresseduplikealawyerladywiththeheelsandthescarfandyoukepttheMagatamaIgaveyouandthebusdriverIthinkhe'spsychicbecauseheknewIwasstandingwithoutevenlookingbehindhimand… and…"

Maya paused her dialogue, peering over Mia's shoulder to notice the complete stranger that had been standing there just looking at the two of them hugging. Yeesh, not even two hours in the city and already some creep was hounding them. The most troubling fact was that he didn't look like a creep; healthy tan, red dress shirt, white vest, fancy schmancy business man pants… but he didn't fool Maya for a second. Those two piercings on his left ear were dead givaway!

"Um, Mia… don't freak out but I think that Mexican behind you is staring at us." Maya poorly whispered to Mia. "Just act casual… and when I say the code word Peanut Butter Puff, we run for it!" The man, who had obviously heard the whole thing, couldn't help but laugh very loudly at that.

"Now Mia!" Maya panicked as she began pulling on her sister's arm. "Peanut Butter Puff! Peanut Butter Puff!"

"Maya! Maya! Hold on!" Mia struggled against Maya's tugging until she managed to get her arms around the child to keep her still. "It's alright, this is just my co-worker Mr. Armando. He's driving us around because my car is in the garage today."

"Couldn't you just get a taxi like normal people?" Maya blurted out, to which Mia furrowed her eyebrows as she looked at Armando, who was chuckling once more.

"That would be my fault, kid." He said before extending a hand towards Maya. "And you can call me Diego. It's a pleasure to meet you, Maya. Now I see where Kitten gets her good looks." Mia shot him a venomous glare while Maya was busy shaking Diego's hand.

"Wow, you're really a scatterbrain if you realize why your pet cat is good looking in the middle of an introduction." Maya commented as she let go of Diego's hand. "So does this mean you work with Mr. Coffee too?"

A very low moan of frustration could be heard escaping from Mia's lips as she slapped her forehead in an attempt to hide her eyes from the unravellings of this unfortunate turn of events.

Diego just blinked a few times, his mouth eventually etching itself into a low smile. "Can't say it's the first time I've been called that." He commented before looking at Mia.

"Oh! **You're** Mr. Coffee?!" Maya gasped ever so slightly, the embarrassment she had just caused her sister not seeming to register all that well.

"Mia Fey, do you tell your sister everything?" Diego asked the other adult with his trademark grin.

"Yup!" Maya proudly affirmed with a firm nod of the head. "Like how you only act confident to hide the fact that you're a-"

"Heeeeey, who wants hamburgers?" Mia interrupted with exaggerated enthusiasm with the only thing she knew would stop Maya from finishing her sentence.

"HAMBURGERS!" Maya echoed cheerfully as she grabbed both Diego and Mia's wrist as she attempted to lead them… well, she wasn't too sure where she was taking them to be honest. The prospect of a well-earned hamburger was hampering her geographical skills.

"Hold your horses, Maya! Don't we need to get your baggage off the bus first?" Diego asked between laughs.

"Bag…gages…?" the little girl looked up at him, clearly dumbstruck.

"You know, with your changes of clothes and your toys."

"Oh, I already have my two spare robes folded in my backpack." Maya replied, taking off a purple backpack so thin that there was no doubt that it hadn't gone noticed until now.

"I know in Kurain we only take the bare essentials with us," Mia started a little worriedly. "But didn't the other nuns make you pack anything else at all?"

"Nope!" Maya chimed in a surprisingly happy manner before beginning to pull at Diego's wrist again. "Let's get going already! I'm only here for a few days, so let's get out of here!"


End file.
